"Call me Ishmael." (Ismael) That simple, brief, yet famous sentence is what begins the epic tale of Moby Dick. Ishmael describes a typical New York scene. While doing so he tells us he was once out at sea because he felt a "Damp, drizzly November in his soul." Ishmael later travels to New Bedford but misses a ferry to Nantucket. For the sake of tradition he wants to sail in a Nantucket whaler. For now Ishmael needs to look for an inn while he waits for the next Nantucket ferry. He finds one called the Spouter Inn owned by Peter Coffin. Inside the Spouter Inn Ishmael finds a large, old painting cover with decades of soot and dirt making it nearly indefinable. Now here is what makes Ishmael such an interesting character. He makes frequent digressions on a wide range of things throughout the book. He examines the painting and he finally determines it's a painting of a whale attacking a ship. Ishmael talks to the innkeeper and finds out that he will have to share a room with a harpooner named Queequeg. Ishmael isn't too fond of this idea so he decides to sleep on a bench. He finds the bench too uncomfortable so he decides he'll take his chances with Queequeg. He arrives at the room and to his surprise he finds it empty. He jumps into the bed yet he is still far too uneasy to fall asleep before meeting Queequeg. When Queequeg finally arrives Ishmael watches him from the bed. Queequeg is a very odd fellow. He is completely covered in multicolored, religious tattoos. He also performs an odd ritual where he places a small idol into a fire and kneels and prays before it. Queequeg also carries a tomahawk with him at all times. This frightens Ishmael greatly and calls out for the innkeeper when he notices it. The innkeeper rushes upstairs and explains the situation to Ishmael. After the innkeeper leaves Queequeg and Ishmael awkwardly go to bed.
The next morning Ishmael finds Queequegs arm wrapped affectionately around him. After much yelling and wrestling Ishmael manages to wrestle himself free. They both get dressed and eat a meal with the other mariners in the inn hall. To Ishmael's surprise they all eat in silence. After eating his meal he wanders around New Bedford. He later finds himself at the chapel and to his surprise he finds Queequeg there. The preacher decides the theme for this sermon should be the story of Jonah and how he was swallowed by a "great fish." The preacher then claims that the story talks to him directly. He then collapses to feet, drained from the emotion filled sermon.
Queequeg and Ishmael later become great friends. Ishmael digresses that Queequeg is "George Washington cannibalistically developed.” (Ishmael) They both venture to Nantucket where they find the whaler the Pequod. They climb aboard and talk to some crewmen and are accepted into the crew. They later hear about Ahab, the ships captain who lost his leg to Moby Dick. After leaving the ship they later find a scarred and deformed prophet by the name of Elijah. Elijah warns them that their voyage is doomed and tells them of several incidents involving Ahab. Ishmael and Queequeg ignore the prophet's warnings and decide to continue with the voyage anyway.
The next morning Ishmael and Queequeg board the Pequod and they set off. As the ship travels farther south and the weather improves they finally see Ahab for the first time. Ishmael observes him closely. Ahab is a strong, willed figure but his encounter with Moby Dick has scarred him both mentally and physically. He is missing a leg which he replaced with a whale bone and he has a large white scar running down one side of his face. The scar supposebly appeared after an "elemental strife at sea." Ahab does seem mentally troubled. He keeps a strict dictatorship and constantly paces the deck back and forth.
Not much happens until they finally see Moby Dick. A repeating cycle of gams (meetings with other boats), whalings, Ishmael's digressions and thoughts on various subjects, and character development. However there are still some main events that occur before they see Moby Dick. Like the introduction of Fedallah, captain of Ahab's secret crew. Queequeg also becomes extremely sick and realizes that his death is inevitable. He asks the carpenter to build him a coffin which he later sleeps in when he thought that his death was near. After sleeping in the coffin he awakes and finds out that the sickness he was suffering from has passed. He later paints his tattoos onto the coffin and keeps all his belongings in it as a symbol life and death. They turn his coffin into a lifebuoy after a sailor fell overboard and drowned because their old lifebuoy was so old and dry it immediately sunk. Ishmael finds it extremely ironic and has a laugh about it. Fedallah also gives a prophecy to Ahab concerning his death. Fedallah tells him that only hemp will kill him and that he will die before he does. Ahab dismisses this prophecy as foolishness.
Ahab pinned to Moby Dick by the rope of his own harpoon
After a year of sailing they finally spot Moby Dick. They immediately give chase to it but Moby Dick surfaces directly under the Pequod which nearly destroys it. Ahab and his crew drop into their harpooning boats and start hunting for it. For three days Ahab and his crew fail to kill Moby Dick. After every attempt they go back to the boat and rearm. On the very last attempt Ahab manages to stab Moby Dick with a harpoon. Moby Dick, unphased dives and brings the harpoon and the hemp rope attached to it down with him. Ahab's neck gets tangled in the hemp rope and dragged under to his demise. Moby Dick then resurfaces and completely destroys the Pequod. The sinking Pequod creates a massive vortex that sucks everyone under but Ishmael. Ishmael survived by clinging to Queequeg's coffin. He clung to the ironic lifebuoy for three days until he was finally saved by the Rachael.
Review
I would give this book 3 and a half stars out of 5. However depending on your tastes this could the greatest book you've ever read or the worst. This book was written in the 19th century so it can be difficult to read at times. The English and descriptions can be pretty dense too which make reading this book very slow. I personally wasn't a huge fan of this but if you like reading the Lord of the Rings you might not mind it so much. This book is also extremely realistic (if you ignore the fact that their hunting a mythical white whale). Back in the olden days boats moved pretty slowly so sailors kind of "hung out" at sea. There are times when you wish the storyline would just move on. There were a couple things I liked about the book through. I found the dialogue kind of funny since they all spoke (well at least Ahab did anyway) like pirates. Like during the chase after Moby Dick Ahab kept screaming "There she blows!—there she blows! A hump like a snow-hill! It is Moby Dick!" (Ahab) I couldn't help but laugh. I also liked Ishmael's digressions. It was pretty cool to see his views on things. There's tons and tons of symbolism in this book too. But if you're not paying attention it can be pretty easy to miss it. This book is a lot more fun to read if you have someone that knows about the symbolism in Moby Dick. Depending on your tastes this book can incredible or it can be downright boring. If you have a taste for old books that are filled with depth and thick English this might be the book for you, but if your looking for something a little more modern or action packed you might want to look for a different book.
Blood and Thunder
This is my all time favorite song and the main reason why I decided to read Moby Dick.
The video is a little wierd though...I have no idea why clowns are moshing in a fun house.
Last I checked clowns had nothing to do with Moby Dick but if you listen to the music
it's not that bad and has a lot to do with Moby Dick. Check out the lyrics below. At first the
song starts out in whale's perspective but switches over to Ahab's perspective when they
start singing "Split your lungs with blood and thunder."
Blood and Thunder lyrics
I think that someone is trying to kill me
Infecting my blood and destroying my mind
No man of the flesh could ever stop me
The fight for this fish is a fight to the death
White whale - holy grail
What remorseless emperor commands me
I no longer govern my soul
I am completely immersed in darkness
As I turn my body away from the sun
White whale - holy grail
Split your lungs with blood and thunder
When you see the white whale
Break your backs and crack your oars men
If you wish to prevail
This ivory leg is what propels me
Harpoons thrust in the sky
Aim directly for his crooked brow
And look him straight in the eye
Moby Dick and the Pequod
Summary
"Call me Ishmael." (Ismael) That simple, brief, yet famous sentence is what begins the epic tale of Moby Dick. Ishmael describes a typical New York scene. While doing so he tells us he was once out at sea because he felt a "Damp, drizzly November in his soul." Ishmael later travels to New Bedford but misses a ferry to Nantucket. For the sake of tradition he wants to sail in a Nantucket whaler. For now Ishmael needs to look for an inn while he waits for the next Nantucket ferry. He finds one called the Spouter Inn owned by Peter Coffin. Inside the Spouter Inn Ishmael finds a large, old painting cover with decades of soot and dirt making it nearly indefinable. Now here is what makes Ishmael such an interesting character. He makes frequent digressions on a wide range of things throughout the book. He examines the painting and he finally determines it's a painting of a whale attacking a ship. Ishmael talks to the innkeeper and finds out that he will have to share a room with a harpooner named Queequeg. Ishmael isn't too fond of this idea so he decides to sleep on a bench. He finds the bench too uncomfortable so he decides he'll take his chances with Queequeg. He arrives at the room and to his surprise he finds it empty. He jumps into the bed yet he is still far too uneasy to fall asleep before meeting Queequeg. When Queequeg finally arrives Ishmael watches him from the bed. Queequeg is a very odd fellow. He is completely covered in multicolored, religious tattoos. He also performs an odd ritual where he places a small idol into a fire and kneels and prays before it. Queequeg also carries a tomahawk with him at all times. This frightens Ishmael greatly and calls out for the innkeeper when he notices it. The innkeeper rushes upstairs and explains the situation to Ishmael. After the innkeeper leaves Queequeg and Ishmael awkwardly go to bed.
The next morning Ishmael finds Queequegs arm wrapped affectionately around him. After much yelling and wrestling Ishmael manages to wrestle himself free. They both get dressed and eat a meal with the other mariners in the inn hall. To Ishmael's surprise they all eat in silence. After eating his meal he wanders around New Bedford. He later finds himself at the chapel and to his surprise he finds Queequeg there. The preacher decides the theme for this sermon should be the story of Jonah and how he was swallowed by a "great fish." The preacher then claims that the story talks to him directly. He then collapses to feet, drained from the emotion filled sermon.
Queequeg and Ishmael later become great friends. Ishmael digresses that Queequeg is "George Washington cannibalistically developed.” (Ishmael) They both venture to Nantucket where they find the whaler the Pequod. They climb aboard and talk to some crewmen and are accepted into the crew. They later hear about Ahab, the ships captain who lost his leg to Moby Dick. After leaving the ship they later find a scarred and deformed prophet by the name of Elijah. Elijah warns them that their voyage is doomed and tells them of several incidents involving Ahab. Ishmael and Queequeg ignore the prophet's warnings and decide to continue with the voyage anyway.
The next morning Ishmael and Queequeg board the Pequod and they set off. As the ship travels farther south and the weather improves they finally see Ahab for the first time. Ishmael observes him closely. Ahab is a strong, willed figure but his encounter with Moby Dick has scarred him both mentally and physically. He is missing a leg which he replaced with a whale bone and he has a large white scar running down one side of his face. The scar supposebly appeared after an "elemental strife at sea." Ahab does seem mentally troubled. He keeps a strict dictatorship and constantly paces the deck back and forth.
Not much happens until they finally see Moby Dick. A repeating cycle of gams (meetings with other boats), whalings, Ishmael's digressions and thoughts on various subjects, and character development. However there are still some main events that occur before they see Moby Dick. Like the introduction of Fedallah, captain of Ahab's secret crew. Queequeg also becomes extremely sick and realizes that his death is inevitable. He asks the carpenter to build him a coffin which he later sleeps in when he thought that his death was near. After sleeping in the coffin he awakes and finds out that the sickness he was suffering from has passed. He later paints his tattoos onto the coffin and keeps all his belongings in it as a symbol life and death. They turn his coffin into a lifebuoy after a sailor fell overboard and drowned because their old lifebuoy was so old and dry it immediately sunk. Ishmael finds it extremely ironic and has a laugh about it. Fedallah also gives a prophecy to Ahab concerning his death. Fedallah tells him that only hemp will kill him and that he will die before he does. Ahab dismisses this prophecy as foolishness.
After a year of sailing they finally spot Moby Dick. They immediately give chase to it but Moby Dick surfaces directly under the Pequod which nearly destroys it. Ahab and his crew drop into their harpooning boats and start hunting for it. For three days Ahab and his crew fail to kill Moby Dick. After every attempt they go back to the boat and rearm. On the very last attempt Ahab manages to stab Moby Dick with a harpoon. Moby Dick, unphased dives and brings the harpoon and the hemp rope attached to it down with him. Ahab's neck gets tangled in the hemp rope and dragged under to his demise. Moby Dick then resurfaces and completely destroys the Pequod. The sinking Pequod creates a massive vortex that sucks everyone under but Ishmael. Ishmael survived by clinging to Queequeg's coffin. He clung to the ironic lifebuoy for three days until he was finally saved by the Rachael.
Review
I would give this book 3 and a half stars out of 5. However depending on your tastes this could the greatest book you've ever read or the worst. This book was written in the 19th century so it can be difficult to read at times. The English and descriptions can be pretty dense too which make reading this book very slow. I personally wasn't a huge fan of this but if you like reading the Lord of the Rings you might not mind it so much. This book is also extremely realistic (if you ignore the fact that their hunting a mythical white whale). Back in the olden days boats moved pretty slowly so sailors kind of "hung out" at sea. There are times when you wish the storyline would just move on. There were a couple things I liked about the book through. I found the dialogue kind of funny since they all spoke (well at least Ahab did anyway) like pirates. Like during the chase after Moby Dick Ahab kept screaming "There she blows!—there she blows! A hump like a snow-hill! It is Moby Dick!" (Ahab) I couldn't help but laugh. I also liked Ishmael's digressions. It was pretty cool to see his views on things. There's tons and tons of symbolism in this book too. But if you're not paying attention it can be pretty easy to miss it. This book is a lot more fun to read if you have someone that knows about the symbolism in Moby Dick. Depending on your tastes this book can incredible or it can be downright boring. If you have a taste for old books that are filled with depth and thick English this might be the book for you, but if your looking for something a little more modern or action packed you might want to look for a different book.
Blood and Thunder
This is my all time favorite song and the main reason why I decided to read Moby Dick.
The video is a little wierd though...I have no idea why clowns are moshing in a fun house.
Last I checked clowns had nothing to do with Moby Dick but if you listen to the music
it's not that bad and has a lot to do with Moby Dick. Check out the lyrics below. At first the
song starts out in whale's perspective but switches over to Ahab's perspective when they
start singing "Split your lungs with blood and thunder."
Blood and Thunder lyrics
I think that someone is trying to kill me
Infecting my blood and destroying my mind
No man of the flesh could ever stop me
The fight for this fish is a fight to the death
White whale - holy grail
What remorseless emperor commands me
I no longer govern my soul
I am completely immersed in darkness
As I turn my body away from the sun
White whale - holy grail
Split your lungs with blood and thunder
When you see the white whale
Break your backs and crack your oars men
If you wish to prevail
This ivory leg is what propels me
Harpoons thrust in the sky
Aim directly for his crooked brow
And look him straight in the eye
White whale - holy grail
Works Cited
"Leviathan." www.mastodonrocks.com August 31, 2004 <http://www.mastodonrocks.com/downloads>
"Blood and Thunder." www.youtube.com Jan. 12, 2006 <www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIhKRKSpvbI>
"Queequeg." www.antiquark.com April 11, 2002 <www.antiquark.com/ img/queequeg_scrimshaw.jpg>
"Ahab." www.25frames.org May 21, 2000 <25frames.org/media/ screens/265.jpg>
Melville, Herman. Moby Dick or the White Whale (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1851)